flee
v.v. to run away from a place or a situation because you are in danger. It is a more serious and formal word than 'run away'.
v. to run away from a place or situation of perceived danger. Often used in journalistic or literary contexts to describe escaping from conflict, disaster, or pursuit.
Many people had to flee the city during the storm.
The residents were forced to flee their homes as the rising floodwaters reached the ground floor.
Witnesses reported seeing several suspects flee the scene on foot immediately after the alarm sounded, disappearing into the dense network of alleyways before the police arrived.
From Middle English flen, from Old English flēon, from Proto-West Germanic fleuhan, from Proto-Germanic fleuhaną, from Proto-Indo-European plewk-, plew- (“to fly, flow, run”). Cognate with Dutch vlieden, German fliehen, Icelandic flýja, Swedish fly, Gothic 𐌸𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌷𐌰𐌽 (þliuhan). Within English, related to fly and more distantly to flow.
The verb can be used transitively (flee the country) or intransitively (flee from danger).
They fleed from the fire.They fled from the fire.The verb 'flee' is irregular; the past tense and past participle form is 'fled', not 'fleed'.